‘BJP takes pride in being non-dynastic’

Deviating from his written speech, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani, while speaking at the party's National Council on Sunday, criticised the organisation for being slack in dealing with the corruption charges against the B S Yeddyurappa-led BJP government in Karnataka.

Referring to time when Nitin Gadkari was the party president and allegations against Yeddyurappa surfaced, Advani said, ‘Without mincing words let me admit that our wavering and unprincipled handling of the situation in Karnataka caused great damage to our image.’ The BJP leader was of the viewthat there should be no compromise with corruption. When the Yeddyurappa govt was indicted by the Karnataka Lokayukta in a graft case, Advani was firm that he should resign. Advani had also put his foot down over giving a second term to Gadkari in Jan after there were allegations of financial irregularities against his Purti Group.

Advani, also cautioned against the urge among some workers to be in the limelight at the cost of the party and differences between leaders at the top level. ‘We in the BJP take legitimate pride in the fact that we are a non-dynastic party that values and promotes internal democracy. But we must recognise that internal cohesion, specially at the top levels of the organisation, sustains internal democracy,’ said Advani.

The senior leader also said that if internal cohesion is allowed to be weakened by lack of internal discipline, which has always been the hallmark of the BJP and earlier the Jan Sangh, the party begins to project an image of an organisation suffering from internal differences. Advani underlined the need for the BJP to emerge as a strong, viable non-Congress alternative to win over new alliance partners to the NDA fold and also to change the party's mutual equation with minorities. Interestingly, when the clamour for Modi as the PM candidate is growing Advani showered praise on Sushma Swaraj and equated her oratorial skills with that of former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. ‘Sushma gives me the same complex that Vajpayee used to give me,’ said Advani. As he began his speech, Advani said he could not say anything better than what Sushma said. ‘She has explained everything in such eloquently. She has even analysed why we lost in some states, where there was a hat-trick, where there is likely to be hat-trick and where we could not win,’ he said.